Knitting machine



4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 21, 1956 INVENTOR.

THEODORE. E. SHASTANY BY flw hv ATTO RNEYS Jan. 19, 1960 1'. E. SHASTANYKNITTING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 21, 1956 FIG. 5.

INVENTOR.

THEODORE E. SHASTANY ATTORNEYS Jan. 19, 1960 T. E. SHASTANY KNITTINGMACHINE Filed Nov. 21, 1956 THEODORE E. SHASTANY Y L4 :21

I ATTORNEY v WMnW-HIHH W. W KE NLH D S K T TNSS ll II l iii gamma Jan.19, 1960 -r. E. SHASTANY KNITTING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Nov.21, 1956 INVENTOR. THEODORE E. SHASTANY Zdf V,

ATTORNEYS:

United States PatentQ KNITTING MACHINE Theodore E. Shastany, Laconia,NH, assignor to Scott & Williams, Incorporated, Laconia, N.H., acorporation ofMassachusetts Application November 21, 1956, Serial No.623,595

6 Claims. (Cl. 66-108) This invention relates to knitting machines andparticularly to the knitting of welts in sheer ladies stockings.

In knitting seamless ladies stockings, one of the major problems,particularly since fine gauge fabric has become popular, has been toknit the welt loose enough to fit properly above the knee and still haveall of the stitches retain uniform size and shape. In order that theankle of the stocking may be sumcicntly narrow to fit properly, amaximum number of needles are spaced about the cylinder and knit fairlytight stitches. However, since the required width of the welt fabricabove the knee is approximately 50% greater than the ankle width, thestitches are necessarily much larger.

Due to these large stitches of relatively light or fine yarn, there isless of a locking condition present during their formation, and at timesa stitch may be sufiiciently distorted as various parts of the needlepass through it that it will fail to return to its proper shape and sizeat the end of its knitting cycle. This condition may be somewhatexaggerated when the yarn used is of a type such as nylon, which undercertain conditions has a tendency to take and retain a set.

When distortion occurs in one stitch, a certain amount of robbing ofyarn from adjacent stitches usually takes place which causes them alsoto be deformed to some extent and the result is an irregular cluster ofstitches variously known in the trade as a draw stitch, crow foot, hentrack, or the like. While the deformed stitches do not usually impairthe wearing qualities of a stocking, they are unsightly and may resultin the stocking being classed as a second and sold at a reduced price.

The distorted stitches. are particularly troublesome in loose fabric ofso-called turned welts in which the initial courses are taken from theneedles and held by instruments in a dial during the knitting of a loopof fabric and then returned to the needles to join other stitches asshown in the patent to R. W. Scott No. 1,232,958. Due to the holding ofthe first courses, the stitches of the loop of fabric cannot becontrolled by a takeup and several methods have been tried to applytension, in-

cluding the use of air blasts, but without marked success.

One of the reasons for knitting the welt exceptionally loose isdue toshrinkage which takes place in nylon or yarns of similar type duringfinishing operations, and a method which permits the knitting ofrelatively smaller stitches by the use of preshrunk yarn is described inthe patent to B. J. Faucette No. 2,396,166. While this method issatisfactory, it is desirable to secure satisfactory results, ifpossible, by mechanical means, and it is the general object of thepresent invention to provide such means, and in cases where welts ofextreme width are required, to combine the method of using preshrunkyarn, as disclosed in Patent No. 2,396,166, with the mechanical means of.the present invention.

It has been found that by properly moving the sinkers, a welt can beproduced having alternate groups of loose wales and tight ,wales. Theloose and tight wales proice vide a ribbed appearance and in addition togood appearance provide a welt with more stretch than is possible byknitting with loose stitches which are not sufficiently loose to giverise to objectionably formed stitches and the so-called draw stitches,crows feet, hen tracks, etc.

The'apparatus involved will be described as applied to a single feedhosiery machine such as shown in the previously mentioned Scott patentfor making a ladys stocking and having a loose upper portion or welt,and will also be briefly described as applied to a similar machinehaving two feeds, but it will be equally effective in hosiery machineshaving more feeds, or in any knitting machine where large stitches ofrelativelylight yarn would otherwise be required to provide a highdegree of stretch.

The invention is not only limited to the production of straight ribs butmay also be employed in connection with the use of alternate S and Ztwist yarns causing the wales to slope first in one direction, then theother thereby producing bands of alternately sloped ribs in the welt ofthe stocking.

The foregoing and other objects of the invention re-- latingparticularly to details of construction and operation of apparatusembodying the invention will become apparent from the followingdescription read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a development of the knitting cams of a machine embodyingthe invention, the development being viewed looking outwardly from theaxis of the needle cylinder,

Figure 2 is a plan view of the sinker cam ring of the knitting machineas viewed from above showing the regular cams as well as those which arespecially provided in accordance with the invention;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary section taken on the plane the trace of whichis indicated at 3-3 in Figures 1 and 2, this section showing the needlecylinder, cylinder top, sinker ring, sinker cam ring, a short buttsinker and a long butt sinker together with a needle and sinker in theirrelative positions during the time the needle remains at tuck height;

Figure 4 is a similar fragmentary section taken on the plane the traceof which is indicated at 44 in Figures 1 and 2 and showing the positionof a sinker in relation to a needle when the sinker has been moved fullyinwardly by a presser cam after the needle has reached its extremelatch-clearing height;

Figure 5 is a similar fragmentary section taken on the plane the traceof which is indicated at 5-5 in Figures 1 and 2 and showing a needle andsinker at the time the sinker cam has just moved the sinker intoposition to cast a stitch from the needle;

Figure 6 is a similar fragmentary View taken on the plane the trace ofwhich is indicated at 6-6 in Figures 1 and 2 and showing a needle andsinker at the time when the latch is being opened by a stitch as theneedle is being raised;

Figure 7 is a diagram showing the fabric produced in accordance with theinvention involving a straight ribbed fabric;

Figure 8 is a diagram showing the fabric produced by the use ofalternately twisted yarns; and

Figure 9 is a view generally similar to Figure 1 but showing adevelopment of the jack and knitting cams of a two feed machine asviewed looking outwardly from the axis of the needle cylinder.

Referring first to Figures 1-6, inclusive, there are shown certain partsof a single feed machine as are particularly involved in theaccomplishment of the objects of the present invention. For furtherdetails of such a Patented Jan, 19, 1960 3 machine, reference may bemade to the Scott patent referred to above. I

The machine comprises latch needles 2 carried by a needle cylinder 4. Asinker ring 6 is slotted as indicated at '8 to mount sinkers 9 and'10for radial sliding movements, the inner portions of the sinkers beingguided in conventional fashion by the cylinder top 11. A sinker cam ringindicated at 12 is provided with a cam 14 which serves to move sinkersoutwardly, and with the usual earns 16 and 18. The cam 18 serves to movethe sinkers inwardly during normal forward knitting, and the cams 16 and18 are active during reciprocatory knitting, cam 18 acting when therotating is in the forward direction and cam 16 acting when the rotatingis in the reverse direction. Additionally there are provided the cams 20and 22 in accordance with the present invention serving for additionalcontrol of the sinkers 10.

The sinkers 9 are normal sinkers having butts 23 and the sinkers areprovided with butts '25 slightly higher than the butts 23 of the sinker9. All of the earns 14, 16 and 18 act on the sinker butts 23 and 25 butthe earns and 22 act only on the high butts of the sinkers 10. In theembodiment of the invention shown and described herein there areprovided two adjacent high butt sinkers and two adjacent low buttsinkers in alternate arrangement around the sinker ring.

The'sinker ring is grooved at 24 to receive a spring band 26 whichserves to urge the sinkers inwardly in yielding fashion. As willhereafter appear, the action of this spring band is limited by the innerbounding surface of the groove 24: i.e., the inward motion of the.springis thus limited and the sinkers move further inward only as aresult of cam action.

The cam 16 is secured to the sinker cam ring by screws 28 and 30,whilethe cain 18 is secured to the sinker cam ring by screws 36 and 38.These cams are consequently immovable with respect to the sinker camring during operation of the machine.

Presser cam 20 is pivoted on a screw stud 32 carried by the sinker camring and has its inward movement adjustably limited by engagement of aneccentric stop 34 carried by the cam with the outer edge of the sinkercam ring. Cam 22 is similarly pivoted to the sinker cam ring on a screwstud 40 and is provided with an adjustable eccentric stop 42 whichlimits its inward movement by engagement with the edge of the sinker camring. The cams are respectively urged inwardly by the leaf springs 35and 43 carried by upright shafts 37 and 45 which are subject to controlfrom cams on the main drum of the machine, the springs acting on thecams to urge them inwardly during welt formation, though the cams may beso urged thereafter.

Referring now to Figure 1, the cams provided for action on needle buttscomprise the forward and reverse stitch cams 44 and 46, the center cam48, the raising cams 50, 52, 53 and 54, and the clearing cam provided at56 on the reverse stitch cam. Various other cams which take part inphases of the knitting not of concern herein are illustrated and itwill, of course, be understood that the machine is provided with theusual pickers for the formation of heels and toes, these not beingshown. Associated with the needles in their slots in the needle cylinderare intermediate jacks 58 and pattern jacks 60 which, however, take nopart in the phases of operation to which the present invention isdirected, and accordingly these jacks and their operations are notdetailed. Yarns are fed to the needles from the usual feeding fingers 63of which one is indicated in action at 62, the yarns being fed to theneedles from a conventional throat plate indicated at '64. During theformation of a stocking welt, the needle butts follow the path indicatedat'66 in Figure 1, the hook ends of the needles following thecorresponding path 68.

For clarity,the positions of the sinker operating cams are indicated at18, 20 and 22, there being indicated only the active portion of thefirst of these cams.

Operation of the described mechanism is as follows:

Considering first the movements imparted to the needles, the cycle maybe considered as beginning at the position indicated at A in Figures 1and 2. At this position the needle butts are just beginning theirmovement down center cam 48, whereby each needle is caused to take yarnand draw it to a measured loop over the platforms of adjacent sinkers asit is lowered by stitch cam 44. The lower end of stitch cam 44 providesa close raceway in association with the level portion '49 of the camtherebelow, and this arrangement causes the needle to draw a definiteamount of yarn and to hold it accurately against robbing by succeedingneedles as they draw their loops and until the previous stitches havebeen cast from the needles. The lowermost position of the needle'thusachieved at B is illustrated in Figure 5. The needle is then raisedslightly by cam rise 50 to the position indicated at C to relieve thetension on the new loop. The needle then rises over the next cam whichincludes the relatively rapid rises 52 and 54 and a slight rise at 53between the positions indicated at D and E. The first rise at 52 to theposition approximately indicated by D brings the needle to the levelindicated in Figure 6 where the loop begins to open the latch.Immediately following this is the gentle rise over the cam portion 53which completes opening of the latch. Then the needle rises at 54,position E, and winds up at tuck level where it remains, as indicated inFigure 3, until it reaches the'rise 56 on-the reverse stitch cam bywhich itis raised to latch clearing height at position F. The needlethenpasses positions indicated at G and H to approach the center cam 48and complete the described cycle. The position of the needle between Fand A is that illustrated in Figure 4 which is-a section taken at theposition G. The needle movements which have just beendescribed areconventional, and the present invention is particularly concerned withthe sinker movements which accompany the needle cycle.

At the beginning of the cycle at A, the sinkers have been withdrawn bythe sinker cam 14 to permit the yarn to be drawn by the needle hook pastthe sinker nebs and over the platforms of adjacent sinkers.

At the position B a close raceway is formed between the cams 14 and 18to prevent possible overthrow of the sinkers or chatter which might tendto cause stitches to vary in size. At position B each of the sinkers 9and 10 is moved inwardly by knock-over cam 18 to a position which willcause the completed stitch to be back of the rising needle. The positionattained by the sinker is that illustrated in Figure 5.

Following the position B each of the sinkers is held substantially in aconstant radial position until it reaches the position C. At this point,the contour of the sinker presser cam 22 crosses that of the cam 18 andthe sinkers 10 having high butts are gently moved inwardly until theyreach the position D when they are located as illustrated in Figure 6.The sinkers 9 having low butts are moved outwardly by stitch tension asthe cam 18 recedes until further outward movement of the sinkers isrestrained by the spring band 56. It will be noted that the spring bandis restrained from inward movement by engagement of the inner wall ofthe spring groove 24.

Cam 22 acts as an unyielding cam, having its position fixed by thesetting of stop 42, even though it is held inwardly by spring 43, thespring being a strong one capable of resisting any outward forcesexerted by the sinkers under yarn action. The contour of cam 22 thenrecedes following position D and under the tension of the stitch eachsinker 10 may gradually move outwardly until it reaches location E atwhich time it engages-the spring diagonally across the fabric.

band 26 and maintains a position beyond position B such as thatillustrated in Figure 3.

The position attained is then normally maintained by each of the sinkersuntil it reaches location F. At this location the high butt sinkersbegin to move gradually inwardly under the action of the sinker pressercam 20 (which like the cam 22 is essentially unyielding) until thelocation G is reached where the sinkers 10 assume the positionillustrated in Figure 4, the sinkers 10 again being located radiallyinwardly of the positions of the sinkers 9 maintained by the spring band26.

Beyond location G and to location H the sinkers 10 are released by thesinker presser cam and may move outwardly under the tension of the yarn,this movement being limited by their engagement with the spring bandwhen they assume the same position as is assumed by the lower buttsinkers 9 in this location. Beyond position H the sinkers engage the cam14 whereby they are drawn to the position mentioned at the beginning ofthe cycle, the spring band yielding under the positive action of cam 14.

The foregoing structure provides for the production of successive needleloops of uniform size and for the production of sinker loops inwhich theloops drawn over short butt sinkers are normal loops and in which theloops drawn over long butt sinkers are long or loose loops. After thestitches are cast off and natural stitch adjustment occurs among theloops, the needle loops on each side of the large sinker loops receiveyarn from the sinker loops thus giving rise to three enlarged needleloops. In Figure 7, at 140, there is indicated generally a needle walecomposed of long or loose stitches. There follows in the direction ofknitting a row of sinker loops 142, a needle wale 144, a row of sinkerloops 146 and a needle wale 148. Each of these needle wales is formed oflong or loose stitches and the sinker loops 142 and 146 are formed overhigh butt sinkers and are loose loops. There follows a row of sinkerloops 150, a needle wale 152 and a row of sinker loops 154. The needlewale is a normal tight stitch and the two rows of sinker loops 154 and150are formed over normal or low butt sinkers which produce tight loops.Thus the two slack or high butt sinkers followed by the two normal orlow butt sinkers give rise to three loose wales with loose intermediatesinker loops which assume a sunken position and one tight wale withtight adjacent sinker loops which assumes a raised position. It will beevident that this formation is repetitious and produces a fabric havinga ribbed appearance but not truly ribbed fabric, all of the loops beingconcatenated in the same direction.

A modification of the invention is shown diagrammatically in Figure 8.knitting yarn will cause knitted stitches to leanor be deformed in onedirection or the other according to the direction of twist. If aplurality of courses are knit with a yarn having a high degree of twistin only a single direction the result will be wales which tend to slopeIf a group of successive courses are knit with a yarn twisted in onedirection and then a group of successive courses are knit with yarntwisted in the opposite direction the wales will slope first in onedirection in the first group of courses and then in the otherdirectionin the other group of courses causing a zigzag or herringbonetype of appearance.

In Figure 8 there is shown at 164 a plurality of courses knit inaccordance with the invention with a twisted yarn twisted in a firstdirection, e.g., an S-twist yarn, giving rise to groups of loose orsunken wales 160 spaced by tight or raised wales 162 sloping in a firstdirection. At 166 there is shown a plurality of courses knit witha yarntwisted in the opposite direction, e.g., a Z-twist yarn, in which theadjacent groups of loose or sunken wales and tight or raised wales slopein the opposite direction from those shown in the courses 164.

It is well known that the twist of a At 168 there is shown a pluralityof courses knit with the yarn twisting in thesame direction as was theyarn employed in the knitting of,courses 16 4 and at 170 the yarn is thesame as that employed for the courses 166. The two oppositely twistedyarnsare fed to the needles by selectively moving into action the usualyarn feeding fingers providing for feed of variously required yarns andindicated generally at 63 in Figure 1. Alternately, there may beemployed a single yarn having successive lengths alternately twisted asS-twist and Z-twist yarns. These lengths may extend for several yarnsand are each of sulficient length toprovide a suitable number of coursesof knitting to produce herringbone appearance in the finished fabricasdiagrammed in Figure 8. Such a fabric provides not only for additionalstretch and the avoidance of the so-called draw stitches, crows feet,hen tracks, etc., but also provides a welt having a particularlydesirable and attractive appearance.

Figure 9 illustrates the application of the invention to a two-feedhosiery machine. The general arrangement ofthe cams is similar to thatshown in the patent to J. J. McDonou gh No; 2,576,962, except that theneedles are shown as being raised from tuck to clear height at one feed,and from just beyond the bottom of the central stitch cam to clearingheight at the other feed by intermediate jacks rather than by needlebutts. The latch needles 2 are associated with sinkers 9 and 10 in anarrangement which is substantially identical with that illustrated inFigures 3 to 6, inclusive, and accordingly specific reference totheseelements and their mountings will not be repeated. Intermediate jacks 70and pattern jacks 72 are provided the latter being of tilting type asused in machines of this character. Referring first to the control ofthe pattern jacks, these jacks have their lower ends tilted outwardly,as they enterthe cams from the right-of Figure 9, by a cam 74 pressingon their upperends. to cause the notch 75 of each jack to engage andride upwardly over cam 76. Cam 78 then engages and depresses theshoulder 80 of each pattern jack, and the jacks are further lowered bythe action of a cam 82 on their butts 84 bringing them to the level atwhich they enter the right of Figure 9.

The intermediate jacks 70 are provided with butts 87. Through the actionof the pattern jacks they are raised at the location of cam 76 to alevel above the cam 86 and are raised by the rise 88 of this cam, beingthen lowered by cam 90. Cam 92 again raises the intermediate jacks andthey are depressed by cam 94 to their initial level. 1

The butts 96 of the needles 2 enter the cams at tuck level along thepath 98. Asthe intermediate jacks rise over cam 88, the needles arepushed upwardlyv as indicated at 100 to clearing height and pass at thisheight over the reverse stitch cam 102 at the first feed. They are thendepressed by the cam 104 and then by the first feed forward stitch cam106 to take yarn fed by the finger 108 and passing from the throat plate110. The stitch cam 106 moves the-butts 96 to their lowermost level 114whereupon they are raised slightly by cam 116 to relieve tension ontheir stitches.- They are then raised to clearing height at 118 by therise of the intermediate jacks over cam 92, are slightly depressed bycam 120 and then engage and are lowered by the second feed stitch cam.122 taking yarn fed by a finger 124 and from a throat plate 126. Afterreaching their lowermost position under the lower end 128 of stitch cam122, they are slightly raised at 130 and are then further raised by thesuccessive slopes 132, 134, and 136 of a raising cam, finally arrivingat tuck level in the path 98.

It will be evident from the foregoing brief description of the needlepath that the needles, in the case of this two-feed machine, pass twicein a single revolution of the needle cylinder through phasescorresponding to those involved in the single feed machine andillustrated in The tilting action serves 7 Figure 1. Since theduplicated needle movements are essentially the same-asthose-involvedinthe'single feed machine "they will not be further described.

There are fllustrated in' Figure 9 the varioussinker operating camswhich have the same functions as those'in Figure 1, and may be similarlymounted andco'ntrolled, but are duplicated at-the'two feeds. At thefirst feed the cams 18', 22" and '20 correspond, 'respectively,'to theearns 18, 22 and 20' of Figure 1. At the second feed cams 18", 22" and20 correspond, respectively, to the cams 18, 22 and 20 of Figure 1.Additionally, there are indicated in Figure 9, in association with thefirst feed, the locations B, C, D, E, F, G and H corresponding to therespective unprimed lettered positions indicated in Figure 1 whileinassociation-withthe second feed there are indicated the positions B",C", D", E, F, G and H" which also correspond, respectively, to theunprimed lettered locations of Figure 1. Without going into detaileddiscussion of theseloc'ations, it may be stated that respectivelythereat there occur the same relationships of the sinkers and needles aswere described in detail in connection with the'single feed machine, andthe sectional views Figures 3 to 6, inclusive, would serveto illustratethe sinker operations involved at each of the two feeds in Figure 9. Itwill accordingly be evident that the same controls of stitch formationare involved in the two-feed machine as in the single feed machine. Thesole difference which may be noted is that the rise to clearing heightalongpath 118 following the lowering of the needles by stitch cam 106 isaccomplished in a continuous movement rather than in stepped movementsas in the case of the second feed in Figure 9 and in the case of thesingle feed in Figure 1. While this continuous rise of theneedlesoccurs, the sinker actions in control of the stitches aresubstantially identical.

It will also 'be'evident that the invention is applicable to machinesinvolving more than two feeds, there being provided in association witheach of the feeds the same types of sinker controls. In all cases thestitches are properly controlled and formed with the elimination of theobjectionable distortions discussed above.

It should be noted that the fabric shown in Figure 7 results from theuse of a normal low twist yarn fedin a single or multiple feed machine.Alternatively, for example, in a two-feed machine, if one feed supplies8 high twist yarn and the other feed Z high twist yarn, the resultingappearance will be substantially that of Figure 7, exceptthat stitchesof alternate courses will slant in one direction while those of theintervening courses will slant in the opposite direction, but a higherdegree of stretch will be provided. The arrangement shown in Figure 8can be made not only'by the alternately twisted yarn previouslymentioned or by alternate feeds of S-twist and Z-twist yarn but also bya multi-feed machine providing S-twist yarn at all of the feed stationsfor a plurality of counses followed by the feeding of Z-twist yarns atall of the feed stations.

It will be further evident that various combinations of long butt andshort butt sinkers may be employed al though the alternately arrangedtwo long butt and two short butt sinkers as disclosed herein provides amost desirzlrble arrangement in connection with knitting a stocking wet.

What is claimed is:

l. A knitting machinecomprising a cylindrical needle bed, latch needlesmovable therein, sinkers associated with said needles, a spring band forurging the sinkers inwardly, cams for imparting a knitting wave to saidneedles, means for advancing sinkers to a radial position to move loopswhich have been cast oif beyond the hooks of rising needles, means forfurther advancing spaced groups of adjacent sinkers as the needles risefor elongating groups of stitches and correspondingly shorteningStitches en aid g oups, and means restraining said springband fromurging said sinkers inwardly as far as they are advanced by the lastmentioned advancing means.-

'2.-'A-knitting'machine comprising a needle bed, latch needles movabletherein, sinkers associated with said needles, cams for imparting aknitting wave to said needles; means for advancing sinkers to a positionto move loops which have been cast off beyond the hooks of risingneedles, means for further advancing spaced groups of adjacent sinkersas the needles rise and latch opening occurs for elongating groups ofstitches and correspondingly shortening stitches between said groups,and means for again advancing said spaced groups of sinkers while thestitch loops rest upon needle shanks below their latches'for elongatingsaid groups of elongated stitches and correspondingly shortening saidstitches between said groups.

3. A knitting machine comprising a cylindrical needle bed, latch needlesmovable therein, sinkers associated with said needles, a spring band forurging the sinkers inwardly, cams for imparting a knitting wave to saidneedles, means for advancing sinkers to a radial position to move loopswhich have been cast off beyond the hooks of rising needles, means forfurther advancing spaced groups of adjacent sinkers as the needles riseand latch opening occurs for elongating groups of stitches andcorrespondingly shortening stitches between said groups, means for againadvancing said spaced groups of sinkers while the stitch loops rest uponneedle shanks below their latches for elongating said groups ofelongated stitches and correspondingly shortening said stitches betweensaid groups, and means restraining said spring band from urging saidsinkers inwardly as far as they are advanced by the two last mentionedadvancing means.

4. A knitting machine comprising aneedle bed, latch needles movabletherein, sinkers associated with said needles, cams for imparting aknitting wave to said needles, means for advancing sinkers to a positionto move loops which have been cast off beyond the hooks of risingneedles and means for further advancing spaced groups of adjacentsinkers as the needles rise and substantially following the attainmentby the needles of the ends of their stitch drawing movements forelongating groups of stitches by robbing yarn from stitches between suchgroups, thereby to shorten the latter.

5. A method of knitting on a machine comprising a needle bed, latchneedles movable therein, sinkers associated with said needles, cams forimparting a knitting wave to said needles, and means for operatingsinkers, comprising advancing sinkers to a position to move loops whichhave been cast off beyond the books of rising needles, further advancingspaced groups of adjacent sinkers as the needles rise for elongatinggroups of stitches and correspondingly shortening stitches between saidgroups, and during the aforementioned knitting feeding yarn having ahigh degree of twist in one direction for a plurality of courses ofknitting and feeding yarn having a high degree of twist in the oppositedirection for a succeeding plurality of courses of knitting.

6. A method according to claim 5 in which said further advancing ofsinkers takes place as latch opening occurs, and in which said spacedgroups of sinkers are also advanced while the stitch loops rest uponneedle shanks below their latches.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS697,078 Ellis Apr. 8, 1902 2,337,153 Cloutier Dec. 21, 1943 2,703,970Reymes-Cole et al Mar. 15, 1955 2,727,374 Page Dec. 20, 1955 FOREIGNPATENTS I 221,686 Great-Britain Sept. 18,1924

